February 5 '08: A new report has been released by the UK-based Oxford Group, which works to find sustainable solutions to security questions facing the UK and the rest of the world. The new report outlines the potential challenges law enforcement agencies will face in the coming years if changes in the climate begin to stress resources among communities in both the developed and developing world.

The report, entitled, "An Uncertain Future: Law Enforcement, National Security and Climate Change" wrote that "Climate change can no longer be considered solely as an environmental issue. The well-documented physical effects of climate change ... will have knock-on socio-economic impacts. ... These in turn could produce serious security consequences ... that will present new challenges to governments trying to maintain domestic security."

The report said that border security, changes in the rates in types of crimes, new policing legislation and response to natural disasters were the primary four areas which will require the most amount of attention. Additionally, the report said, "there will be important operational and strategic concerns that military planners will need to consider over the coming decades."

Those concerns could include a difficulty in maintaining military capability, the loss of strategic assets, more peacetime deployments, and instability in important regions.

Additionally, the Local Governments for Sustainability released a report on ways that local and state government emergency response agencies could begin to address the challenges facing communities because of increase severe weather and climate change.

The Oxford Group's report said that status quo approaches to addressing law enforcement challenges stemming from climate change "will ultimately fail," and that "the risks of climate change demand a rethink of current approaches to security and the development of cooperative and sustainable ways of achieving that security, with an emphasis on preventative rather than reactive strategies."